Old-time geeks will remember what it meant to use 'SneakerNet' to transfer data between two computers. You stuck your 5 1/4-inch floppy diskette in your your computer's diskette drive, transferred all of a maxiumum of 360 kilobytes of data , and then put on your sneakers and walked the diskette over to the other computer where you transferred the information.
Now, a University of Waterloo research team has combined the principle behind SneakerNet with USB memory sticks — which, for ten or twenty dollars can store several gigabytes of encrypted data — for project called VLink, which researchers say will help extend the functionality of the Internet to less-developed, rural areas of the world.
Here's the press release out this morning from UW:
Researchers at the University of Waterloo are making Internet access affordable in the developing world with an innovative combination of cheap, robust hardware and free, open-source software.
Building on ideas initially developed for inter-planetary communication, their 'Vlink' software permits reliable e-mail exchange over unreliable communication links. Where no communication links exist, VLink allows messages to be exchanged using USB memory sticks physically carried between desktop PCs. VLink can also transfer urgent e-mail using cellphone text messages.
Using VLink, governments and non-governmental organizations can disseminate agricultural, educational and financial data to rural residents. By providing access to this data from a rural PC and the ability to consult an expert over e-mail, VLink allows farmers, teachers and nurses in rural areas to get targeted expert help when they need it. Moreover, by moving large amounts of data to and from rural areas, business process outsourcers can use VLink to provide data entry jobs for rural youth, reducing overcrowding in cities.
“Unlike other approaches to rural Internet access, the VLink system is highly-reliable because it expects disconnections and gracefully deals with them,” explains Srinivasan Keshav, a professor with Waterloo's school of computer science, who guided the development of the VLink system. “VLink is inexpensive and easy to deploy, requiring only two Windows XP Pro PCs and a single USB memory stick to get started.” The team is currently testing the system at two locations in India.
VLink breaks new ground in using a USB memory stick to store encrypted 'frozen packets.' USB memory sticks contain no moving parts, and are small, lightweight and removable, making them ideally suited to conditions in developing countries. E-mail and data generated at a rural desktop are stored on a USB memory stick which can then be carried or mailed to a location that has Internet access. Here, the packets are 'thawed' and uploaded to the Internet.
The same USB memory stick also carries e-mail and data back to rural users. This eliminates the need for an end-to-end link, reducing costs. Data stored on a USB memory stick is encrypted, making it suitable for medical or financial information.
Where communication links, such as dial-up lines, already exist, VLink software adds reliability, allowing rural PCs to deal with link failures. Moreover, VLink allows e-mail and short, urgent data to be sent using cellphone text messaging, which is widely available in the developing world.
The researchers released the beta version of their software in June 2009 for testing by interested parties. This version of their software includes an e-mail application that allows rural users to exchange e-mail and attachments with other users anywhere in the world. Several applications relying on the VLink software are under active development.